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From the Ancestry
Daily News
Michael John Neill -- 4/6/2005

A $31.44 Inheritance

Probate
papers of ancestors are a record utilized by most genealogists. The
records of how an ancestor's property was allocated after their death
can provide a significant amount of family information, particularly in
terms of relationships, married names for women, family financial
status, and residences of heirs. These records should not only be
accessed for direct line ancestors. Estate settlements of other
extended family members may also provide significant clues.

The 1950s
estate settlement of Anna Haase is a case in point. Miss Haase died in
1955 leaving no descendants and enough money to cause her estate to go
through the process of probate. Anna was the youngest of 6 children,
nearly twenty years younger than her older sister, and had survived all
her siblings and several of her nieces and nephews. The estate record
listed over fifty of Anna's heirs. My own grandmother even received a
whopping $31.44 from the estate.

Readers
unfamiliar with probate records may wish to refer to two earlier
"Beyond the Index" Columns:

Whose Records Do I Look For?The
estate settlements most likely to contain extended lists of relatives
are those for individuals that generally fall into the following
category:

Individuals
who left no descendants of their own.

Individuals
who did not leave a will completely disposing of their property.

Individuals
who had enough of an estate to warrant a settlement.

The record
discussed in this column was for a sister of my
great-great-grandmother. The estate records of ancestral cousins are
also worth considering if they fall into the same categories as listed
previously. My same Grandmother also received two small inheritances
from first cousins who not only left no descendants but were also only
children. Estates of this kind are particularly valuable as the heirs
typically begin with the first cousins of the deceased and may extend
even further depending upon the family structure. You may be surprised
at what relatives come out of the woodwork.

How to Find These Records?The
kinds of estate records discussed in this article are usually recorded
at the county level in most states in the United States. Researchers
wanting to learn more about estate records in their particular state of
interest can consult either Ancestry's
Red Book or the appropriate state research guide at the Family
Search website (www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/RG/frameset_rhelps.asp).
Learn about the records in your area of interest before blindly
attempting to locate them. Records of the type discussed in this column
are usually filed as probate, estate, or inheritance records in a court
records office at the county or town level.

Why $31.44? Just
how did Grandma get $31.44 of Anna's estate?
The estate's funds were distributed per stirpes, where
basically each heir inherits a portion of the estate that is dependent
upon the relative sizes of the families involved.

Grandma and
her siblings each received 1/210th of the estate of Anna Haase. While
the portion is small, the calculation is not as complicated as it may
sound.

Grandma's
share of the Anna Haase estate was determined in the following manner:

Anna
Haase had no children, but had five siblings that left descendants:Frances
Trautvetter Louise
Meyers Conrad
Haase Herman
Haase Lena
Baker

Each of
these siblings died before Anna's death in 1955. Our discussion
continues with Frances Trautvetter. Seven of Frances' children were
either living at the time of Anna's death or had descendants living
when Anna died. The portion of Anna's estate that went to Frances'
heirs was split seven ways. One of these seven portions went to
Frances's son George.

George
Trautvetter also died before Anna Haase and at the time of Anna's death
George had six children who were either living or who had left the own
descendants. Each of these children of George would receive one-sixth
of George's share. In summary:

Anna's
estate was split five ways, one share went to France's heirs.

Frances'
portion was split seven ways, one share went to George's heirs.
George's portion was split six ways, one share went to daughter Ida.

Each of
George's children received 1/210 of the estate. This is determined by
multiplying the number of splits from Anna to Ida (five times seven
times six). That 210 th is certainly a little wedge of the pie.

Are Some People Left Out?As
I read through the list of names, the ones in my grandmother's branch
of the family were familiar to me, but there were some family names
that were omitted from the estate records. There are two main reasons
why some family members of the family may not be listed.

The
settlement of the estate only requires that the heirs be determined at
the time the estate is settled. It is not necessary to document every
descendant or relative who ever lived or even every family member who
was living at the time the estate was settled.

In our
example case, Anna's sister Frances Trautvetter had own daughter who
died as a toddler in the 1880s. Since Frances' daughter left no heirs
of her own, this daughter is not mentioned in the estate records.
George Trautvetter's son who died in his mid-30s is not mentioned
either. While he died at the age of 36, he left no children or spouse
upon his death. In some cases these individuals may be mentioned in an
estate for completeness, but there usually is no reason that these
individuals have to be listed. Children who died as infants will likely
not be mentioned at all. Remember, the court is concerned with
establishing a list of heirs, not a list of every relative who ever
lived.

Some Additional WarningsThe
order finding heirship (where the heirs are proven and listed)
indicates that Anna Haase had five siblings who predeceased her. This
is correct. She did have five siblings. What the record does not
mention is that Anna and her siblings did not have the same father. The
two oldest siblings, Frances and Louise, were children of their
mother's first marriage. Anna Haase and the remaining siblings were
from a subsequent marriage of the mother. The inheritance law in effect
in Illinois at this time made no distinction between full and half
siblings, so this relationship distinction is not noted in
the estate records for Anna Haase. Of course having different fathers
is significant for the genealogist.

Care must
be taken with other heirs as well. In a deceased heir left descendants,
that group of heirs should be listed in the records. It may not be
noted in the records that that particular group of heirs shared only
one parent.

Look
through your family information. Is there a relative who died without
descendants? If so, the answers to some of your genealogical questions
may be lurking in their probate file.

Michael
John Neill is the Course I Coordinator at the Genealogical Institute of
Mid America (GIMA) held annually in Springfield, Illinois, and is also
on the faculty of Carl Sandburg College in Galesburg, Illinois. Michael
is currently a member of the board of the Federation of Genealogical
Societies (FGS) www.fgs.org. He
conducts seminars and lectures nationally on a wide variety of
genealogical and computer topics and contributes to several
genealogical publications, including Ancestry Magazine and Genealogical
Computing. You can e-mail him at mjnrootdig@myfamily.com or
visit his website at www.rootdig.com,
but he regrets that he is unable to assist with personal research.